Friday, May 23, 2014

Pea and Almond Pesto

I’ve been struggling to put together a post featuring this
simple and delicious recipe for a pea and almond sauce on pasta with extra peas.
I just couldn’t think of anything extraordinary to say about it. I didn’t grow
the peas. In fact, I just put my pea seeds in the ground and it will be weeks
before I have any peas at all. And if I did have home-grown peas I’d probably
just eat them somewhere on the very short walk from the garden to the house.
They’d never make it into a pasta sauce.

Of course you don’t need fresh peas at all for this recipe.
A bag of frozen peas is significantly less expensive and more convenient and taste
just fine, too. Pea and Almond Pesto isn’t necessarily a seasonal recipe, then,
since you can get frozen peas any time. The flavors are so deliciously sweet
and light, however, that this dish volunteers to be served in the spring.

This whole dish takes just about the amount of time to make
as it takes to cook a pot of pasta. It’s also easily doubled, so you could feed
a crowd with it if you need to. The little bit of sweetness in the almonds is a
good compliment to the sweet peas and, in turn, the little bit of nutty flavor
in the peas serves as a bridge to the almonds. Overall, this dish is so easy
and so delicious, I want to make it all the time! If that’s not enough to say
about a recipe, then, too bad. It’s what I have to say about this one.

Pea and Almond
Pesto with Pasta and Peas

Adapted from Everyday
Food Magazine

8 ounces uncooked pasta, preferably a short pasta

10 ounces frozen peas

½ cup chopped almonds

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¾ teaspoon salt

2-3 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta
according to package directions and until it is as done as you like it. During
the last three minutes of cooking, add half (5 ounces) of the peas. Drain the
pasta and peas reserving a cup of cooking liquid. Set aside and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, place the almonds in the bowl of a food
processer. Process until finely ground. Add the remaining half of the peas,
lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Process to a thick paste, scraping down the
sides of the processor bowl as needed.

3. With the machine running, slowly add 2 tablespoons olive
oil through the opening at the top of the food processor. Check the sauce for
consistency, adding additional olive oil if needed. Toss the pesto with the hot
cooked pasta and peas, adding some of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin
the sauce if needed.